GROWTH STORY
No one had envisaged that in 10 years, the humble satellite town would metamorphose into a bustling city, with a decadal population growth of 86.6%, which is much higher than suburban Mumbai's population growth of mere 8.01%. Even as the stretches of green, empty roads and lakes gave way to malls, offices and towering buildings with a staggering population boom, most families staying there cast their votes in favour of "spaced-out" Navi Mumbai rather than the concrete jungle of Mumbai.
Navi Mumbai, which came into being in 1970, was designed to house a maximum population of 40 lakh. But the latest socio-economic survey conducted by the City and Industrial Development Corporation of Maharashtra Limited (Cidco) has revealed that the figure has already touched the 20-lakh mark.
And according to experts, one of the reasons behind people suddenly converging on the quiet neighbourhood was the shifting of businesses there. Unlike in the past, when most of the people living there had to travel to Mumbai for work every day, now, a good 68% of the population lives and works in the satellite city. Of the total 6.97 lakh residents, 4.74 lakh work in Navi Mumbai itself. Cidco's chief spokesperson Mohan Ninawe agrees that the growth of the "City of 21st Century", as Navi Mumbai is now known, has been tremendous at the turn of the century when business started to shift there. "The infotech (IT) offices first moved here a decade ago when there was a boom in the call-centre sector; then various other businesses followed. Malls and multiplexes have come up and we are also planning to have a Metro rail and an international airport. All these have made Navi Mumbai a big independent city," said Ninawe.
Though the quiet neighbourhood has been witnessing more and more buildings coming up every day, the survey conducted in all the 12 nodes of Navi Mumbai showed that some of the houses, 13% of them, were still unoccupied. The estimated number of dwelling units in the 12 nodes is 3,66,717, out which, 3,18,635 are occupied and the remaining 48,082 still vacant.
It also seems that most of the people who have set up homes in Navi Mumbai over the past few years are Maharshtrians. In 1995, it could don the tag of being cosmopolitan with only 51% of the population being Maharashtrian. But over the past 15 years, the figure has risen by 43%, taking the Maharashtrian percentage to 73.4 among all the households in the city.
Navi Mumbai, which came into being in 1970, was designed to house a maximum population of 40 lakh. But the latest socio-economic survey conducted by the City and Industrial Development Corporation of Maharashtra Limited (Cidco) has revealed that the figure has already touched the 20-lakh mark.
And according to experts, one of the reasons behind people suddenly converging on the quiet neighbourhood was the shifting of businesses there. Unlike in the past, when most of the people living there had to travel to Mumbai for work every day, now, a good 68% of the population lives and works in the satellite city. Of the total 6.97 lakh residents, 4.74 lakh work in Navi Mumbai itself. Cidco's chief spokesperson Mohan Ninawe agrees that the growth of the "City of 21st Century", as Navi Mumbai is now known, has been tremendous at the turn of the century when business started to shift there. "The infotech (IT) offices first moved here a decade ago when there was a boom in the call-centre sector; then various other businesses followed. Malls and multiplexes have come up and we are also planning to have a Metro rail and an international airport. All these have made Navi Mumbai a big independent city," said Ninawe.
Though the quiet neighbourhood has been witnessing more and more buildings coming up every day, the survey conducted in all the 12 nodes of Navi Mumbai showed that some of the houses, 13% of them, were still unoccupied. The estimated number of dwelling units in the 12 nodes is 3,66,717, out which, 3,18,635 are occupied and the remaining 48,082 still vacant.
It also seems that most of the people who have set up homes in Navi Mumbai over the past few years are Maharshtrians. In 1995, it could don the tag of being cosmopolitan with only 51% of the population being Maharashtrian. But over the past 15 years, the figure has risen by 43%, taking the Maharashtrian percentage to 73.4 among all the households in the city.
It's amazing how the city has grown. With it, the cost of housing has also become high. Posh flats on Palm Beach Road and in certain parts of Vashi cost over Rs 1 crore, which is disconcerting
— M Shroff | SECY, MCHI
When we opened Navratna in 1985, there was no other eatery except for one tiny restaurant. Starting our restaurant was my partner Gasper Serrao's idea who could gauge the business potential of an eatery at a place that did not have any decent place to eat
— M Shetty | OWNER,
NAVRATNA RESTAURANT
— M Shetty | OWNER,
NAVRATNA RESTAURANT
CHANGING VISTA: Today's Navi Mumbai (left), with its towers and offices, has come a long way since its inception as seen in a picture (right) taken by Vashi resident Vilas Supanekar
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